Lesson Planning Pack
Each pack in this new series contains a set of four videos on a specific topic. Two of the videos
are Lesson Starters for use in the classroom, one is a Great Lesson Idea introduced by a teacher
and the other is a Teaching Support video, covering professional development related to covering
this topic. The pack contains written resources linked to the topic.
Lesson Planning Pack - Algebra
http://www.teachers.tv/series/lesson-planning-pack-algebra
This Lesson Planning Pack for KS2 maths focusses on Algebra. It includes resources for both
teachers and pupils.
Lesson Starter 1: Algebra in Action
http://www.teachers.tv/videos/algebra-in-action
This lesson starter on algebra tells the story of an apple seller who is cold but can’t afford a scarf.
However, she persuades the scarf seller to exchange a scarf for some apples. The scarf seller then
goes and exchanges some of her scarves for a coat.
The story finishes by asking the question, if you know how many apples get a scarf and how many
scarves get a coat, how many apples will be needed to get a coat?
In this example five apples are exchanged for a scarf and 6 scarves for a coat, so mathematically
30 apples could get you a coat.
After viewing, teachers can ask questions such as:
- How could we write down with sybmols what happened in the story.
5a = s and 6s = c where a is apples, s are scarfs and c is a coat
- Can you then substitute apples for scarfs in the second sum to create an expresion for how
many apples make a scarf (6 x 5a = c)
- If the old lady also knitted hats and 1 hat was worth 3 apples. How many hats would she
need to exchange for a coat?
Lesson Starter 2: What’s the Pattern?
http://www.teachers.tv/videos/algebra-what-the-pattern
It’s two friends’ party and they are trying to work out how many people they can sit at their party
table. Of course the birthday boy and girl must sit at opposite ends of the table with all their guests
sitting down either side.
One table can sit 6 children, one at each end and two on either side, when a second table is added
10 children can be seated (2 at either end and 4 at each side). As the tables and the number of
children grow a pattern starts to appear. Can your pupils work out the pattern and predict how
many children could come to the party if there were 100 tables.
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After viewing teachers can ask questions such as:
- How many children were at the party when there was 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 tables.
- Descibe what is happened each time a table is added
- How many children would be at the party if there were 100 tables?
- Can you work out a formula for how many children there would be for any number of tables
n = (t x 4) + 2 when n is the number of children and t is the number of tables.
- What if 3 children could sit either side of the table, how would the formula change?
Great Primary Lesson Idea: Chessboard Algebra
http://www.teachers.tv/videos/chessboard-algebra
Michelle Bottomley, Year 6 teacher at Tetherdown Primary School in North London, presents her
lesson on Algebra. The objectives being that her pupils use their knowledge of the properties of
number in order to solve problems, and use a symbol to stand for an unknown number.
The lesson starts with the class trying to work out what is happening in a function machine given
several input and output numbers. In the main part of the lesson Michelle gets her pupils looking
for patterns when working out how many squares are in different sized chessboards, and then to
see if they could predict how many squares in a 25 x 25 squared board.
Finally Michelle presents the formula that could be used for any sized board, which the pupils use
to test some of their predictions.
You may also wish to show the lesson starter What’s the Pattern with this lesson as another
example of pattern spotting, and view Teaching Support: Algebra Handshake which looks at the
teching of Algebra.
Teaching Support: Algebra Handshake
http://www.teachers.tv/videos/algebra-handshake
This Teaching Support Video, aimed at Maths teachers, features Isaac Anoom teaching a lesson
on the handshake problem, “how many handshakes can n number of people make”. His lesson,
observed by the class teacher and local authority maths advisor for Hertfordshire, is then
discussed, along with some of the difficulties that teachers face when teaching algebra.
Issac uses pattern spotting as part of his lesson, so it is worth viewing Great Primary Lesson Idea
Chessboard Algebra and Lesson Starter What’s the Pattern?.
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